Pages

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Monday nights are black belt workouts in the dojo. We decided that we were going to work on open hand kata, sai and bo. The open hand kata we focused on was Chinto. This kata has all the elements of ACL difficulty. There are pivots, heel kicks to the chin, spins, quick directional changes, kosa-dachi, a one-leg kneeling position and a jump kick. We performed the kata together and then took the floor for individual demonstration. I asked the other black belts to watch my kata and look for disparity in my movement. In the past few months, I would walk through the jump kick part because I felt I was not ready. Well, last night I was ready to try a jump kick. It was not my best but it was a jump kick

When I finished the kata, I waited for my review. I was told that there was one spot (the kneeling spot) where there was a noticeable knee issue. A comment was made regarding my kicks. My new ACL is kicking higher than my other leg. It is not a flexibility issue rather a support leg issue. I am not comfortable doing heel kicks to the chin using my new ACL as my support leg. I am thankful that there are black belts in the dojo that will help me fine-tune my kata.

I think my knee has been physically ready to do a jump kick for a while. The issue was that I was not mentally ready to do a jump kick until last night. This injury has proved to be more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Having the surgery and working hard at rehab is the easy part. The hard part is being able to trust my knee again and letting go of the fear of re-injury.

6 comments:

The fear is the hardest to get over since your body and your mind never want to have that kind of hurt again! Sounds like you're jumping the hurdle, though. I've always wanted to learn Chinto. We had a female shodan (from another school) in our dojo for about two years who knew Chinto. In the shodan shiai in our school she had not yet learned the upper level kata and Sensei allowed her to do one of her own. It was Chinto. What an amazing kata!

Nonblond: It seems that fear is a big part of the recovery. Your post on fear was very informative. Thanks!

Somaserious, Chad: Chinto is one of my favorite kata. During the first weeks of my recovery, I think I asked my PT every session if I would ever get my jump kick back.

Bob: I was wearing my soft Breg Short Runner. This brace has plastic supports on the outside. I have found the DonJoy Armour to be too constricting even though I believe it offers more protection.

Just this morning, I was in a hurry to get dressed for class and I forgot (I cannot believe it) to put my brace on. It was my first attempt at karate without a brace. I only worked on kata and I was a little hesitant. I do not think I am ready to be brace-free.

About Me

A practitioner of the Martial Arts for 22 years, I am a student and instructor of Okinawa Kenpo Karate and Kobudo. In April 2007, I injured my knee during a two-person bo form. I had a complete ACL tear. On May 15, 2007, I had my ACL reconstructed using a hamstring graft. This blog shares my thoughts on Karate, Tai Chi, ACL Reconstruction and the Challenges of Parenting.